Rise, and Rise Again
by Samuel Black
Summary: Harry lost her. The only person who truly mattered to him. What's a newly christened Master of Death to do? HP/NT, Semi-canon compliant. One-shot.


Author's note: Just a small plot bunny I had. Slightly cliche, but I had fun with it. As always, reviews are appreciated.

I went ahead and revised this for the better in my opinion.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and this is not making me any money, which tells me I spend entirely too much time on it._

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><p><em>"You know they don't approve," she murmured to me as I kissed her. She laughed, a sound that flowed over my skin like honey. "Hell, I don't even approve! You're six years younger than me!"<em>

_"Fuck them," I growled, brushing a hand through her pink hair. "We'll leave. Did you see that article in the Prophet? I've had more than my fill of that."_

_Dumbledore knew. Probably knew the second that we found comfort in each other after Sirius died, omniscient old bastard. He never said anything, but I got the feeling that he approved. In fact, I was almost certain that he covered for us a few times when people got suspicious at the beginning._

_"Dumbledore didn't mind, I think," I say as I pull back from her. Laughter drifter towards us over the air, laughter that only something like a wedding can bring during times like this._

_She nodded, absently biting her lip. "Remus, as well. He's never said anything, but I'm fairly sure he figured it out before the rest." She paused, kissing me again. "I know you have to leave soon."_

_I nodded, leaning my head against hers. "Yeah. Soon. It's the only way to make sure he's gone."_

_She grabbed my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. "I'm not going to tell you to stay, or even ask you what you're doing. Just... Stay safe."_

_I breathed deeply, almost tasting the lavender that she smelled of. "As long as you do," I said grinning._

_"You know we could try to change it," she said quietly as she leaned against me._

_I laughed. "Change what? All of this?" I asked. "Hell, I won't be surprised if they accuse me of being a dark wizard and try to arrest me when it's finally over."_

_She kissed me again, laughing. "I'll kill anyone who tries to take you from me."_

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><p>It was over.<p>

I stood there, over the rapidly cooling body of Voldemort, finally free. I could hear the roars of the students and adults as everybody realized what they had just witnessed. The Elder Wand felt right in my hand, so right that it almost scared me. Power, more power than I had ever dreamed of was lying in the palm of my hand.

I turned, absently noting the exuberant faces of my friends and almost-family in the crowd, but there was only one face I was concerned with finding.

I couldn't find her.

I frowned. Maybe she hadn't come to Hogwarts. I was certain I had seen her, though.

My thoughts were broken as Ron ran up to me, grabbing me in a tight hug. "You did it, mate! He's dead!"

I brushed his arms off my shoulders impatiently. "I know, Ron. Listen," I said, "have you seen Tonks?"

Ron paused, suddenly quieting. "I-" He was cut off as McGonagall approached me.

"Mr. Potter," she said, all severe lines and grim demeanor made even more harsh by the blood on her robes, "please, come with me."

I did.

She led me to a row of bodies. I felt myself die a little bit as I saw each face, but as I saw hers, the only face that fucking mattered, I shattered.

She reached for words for a minute, looking at me, before speaking softly. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Pot-Harry. Harry, I'm so sorry."

She left as I knelt down next to her, all the while people celebrated around me. I cried, cried harder than I had ever cried before.

I don't even remember what happened next, not exactly. I remember kneeling over her body, vision blurring. I remember wishing that I could speak to her one last time. I remember pulling on my invisibility cloak as I saw people rushing towards me, and I vaguely remember walking towards the forest.

Where I had dropped the Resurrection Stone.

I found myself with the Ring on my finger, cloak on my back, wand in my hand. For the first time in history, all three Hallows were united on the same person.

To this day, I still have trouble describing exactly what happened. They always assume that uniting the Hallows gave me knowledge of spells, or ancient rituals that let me commune with the dead. It did neither of those. If I absolutely had to try to describe it, I'd say before, I didn't understand. Afterwords, I understood.

I_ understood._

I turned, taking the cloak off my back, and strode back into the castle. I brushed my way through the throngs of people, the celebrations having died off. The few remaining loyal Aurors had arrived now, almost punctual in their lateness to the party, and were starting the clean up.

I ignored all of them, shoving one of them away from the immediate space around her, and twirled the Death Stick in my hand, murmuring a common enough healing spell under my breath. Her wounds, a hideous gash across her chest knitted itself together, and in a small part of my mind, I found myself curious how much easier it was to heal wounds on a corpse.

For a moment, I must have looked like an idiot as I stood there. I had no idea what I was doing. But then, I realized, it didn't really matter. There were no spells for this, no spellcrafter had ever sat down and mapped out what wand movements were needed for this. It was all about intent. I had the most powerful wand in history in my hand, and it knew what needed to be done, as long as I would let it. I didn't even notice the black tendrils starting to creep across the whites of my eyes.

Turning the Resurrection Stone around my finger, I summoned her soul back to me. This was the true power of the Resurrection Stone in the hands of its Master, not the shade of what it was when it was by itself.

She gasped, her spirit solidifying in front of me, and I heard murmurs as the crowd began to realize what they were seeing.

I leaned in, gently grabbing her by the shoulders, guiding her into her body. She tried to resist slightly, but I was Master of Death, and she was most _certainly_ dead.

I leaned down by her ear, murmuring the words that I knew would bring her back to life, and I felt a small piece of my life force, a few meaningless minutes, get torn away.

Her eyes snapped open as her body gasped in a breath, her body convulsing as life was forced into it again. She shook for a few minutes, the crowd silent in awe as the magnitude of what they had just seen hit them. She looked up at me, before speaking.

"_Harry?_ How-?" Tonks said in a croaking, almost broken voice.

I flicked my wand, _Muffliato_ coming almost unconsciously. "I just wanted to be able to say goodbye." My voice broke as I realized that that was actually all I wanted. I couldn't keep her alive, as much as I wanted too. All I wanted was the chance to say goodbye.

Her gaze softened as she smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't-" I cupped her face in my face, stopping her as I traced my thumb over her lips.

"It's okay," I said, and I realized that it was. "I'll see you again."

She nodded, tears falling from her eyes. "Not to soon, I hope." A laugh barely escaped her lips at that, and god help me if that laugh didn't almost kill me right there.

I sat down, lifting her still weak body up, before placing her head in my lap. I sat there for a moment, just brushing my hand through her hair, and _looking_ at her.

She leaned into my touch. "I love you."

I leaned down, hugging her as hard as I could, her arms snaking around me as she turned towards me, kissing her like it was the last time I would be able to, and I almost laughed hysterically as I realized it would be. I drew back, leaning my head against hers.

"I love you too."

I kissed her again, her hands gripping me almost painfully, and with another flick of the Elder Wand, she was gone.

I remained hunched over her body for a moment, before rising and dispelling the _Muffliato_. I gazed out over the crowd. Too late, I realized what I had done. My friends, and some of the crowd looked understanding, once you got past the fucking pity in their eyes. Others, not so much. Their judgment flowed over me as if they were yelling condemnations towards me. I could almost hear the words they were thinking.

_Necromancer_.

I turned slightly, feeling eyes of a different sort on me. The Bloody Baron.

I inclined my head. "Baron." I knew why he was here. He was dead, after all.

He gazed at me, and I couldn't decide if he looked angry or sad. "Do you have any idea of what you've done, boy?"

I inclined my head slightly. "Surprisingly, I do."

He swiped a hand through the air, chains clanking, as he growled angrily, "You are not the first necromancer to live, boy." His voice turned cold and biting. "This magic, it _costs_."

I turned away from him. "I am well aware of the costs involved." And I was. I could already feel what it had cost me to bring her back, even just for a moment. It's not something that you notice when you have it, but to have a piece of your life ripped away leaves a wound more achingly painful than anything else. "Leave, Baron," I turned my eyes towards him, still laced with black veins, "before I force you to."

I turned back towards the crowd. Some enterprising young Auror had stepped forward, my conversation with the Baron confirming what he needed to know.

"Harry Potter," he yelled, voice almost shaking. "For the crimes of Necromancy and Dark Magic, you are under arrest!" His voice rose over the protests of my friends in the crowd.

Professor McGonagall strode over, one hand knocking his wand arm down. "Are you blind, Adams? I remember you being an idiot, but, god help me, I thought you would have outgrown that by now. _He just killed the Dark Lord!_"

He pushed her away from him, angrily. "Don't make me stun you, Professor! You saw what he did!"

Voices rose in response as they continued to argue, both agreeing and in dissent. I smiled slightly as I saw Aberforth trying to discretely lead some of the younger children out of the Great Hall.

I turned towards the Auror. I should have been diplomatic, but I was still angry at the loss of Tonks, and the almost predictable turn of events. "I'll give you one chance to not go down this road."

He swallowed, almost imperceptibly, but he raised his wand all the same. You could almost feel the temperature drop.

"If you don't agree with this young man here," I said, gesturing towards the Auror, "I suggest you leave."

I flicked my wand, and the large majority of my friends and teachers were suddenly floating towards the door. Quite a few people I didn't recognize were moving as well, and they ran out as fast as they could. I saw my friends were fighting the charm I had cast, but with another flick of my wand, they had no choice.

Kingsley yelled at me as his body was forced out the door. "What are you doing?"

I gazed at him, and I saw him shudder as he saw my eyes, and the madness that lay in them. "What Nymphadora would have done." Another flick of my wand fixed the doors leading into the Great Hall, shutting them at the same time. I turned back towards the Auror, who was still pointing his wand at me.

"So," I murmured, "you want to arrest me."

He raised his wand. "You're a Necromancer, a Dark Wizard. We all saw it!" He all but screamed out the last, almost defensively.

I laughed softly, madness seeping into it, the kind of madness that creeps up on you, and that you don't notice until it's too late. "A person I loved very much once once told me that she'd kill anyone who tried to." I twirled my wand around my fingers. "She's not here anymore, so I guess that task falls to me instead."

And with that said, I reached out, eyes flashing black as I gazed upon the lines of energy that no mortal eyes had ever seen before. I saw the lines holding that insignificant Auror to the mortal plain as clearly as I could see the fear upon his face.

I reached out, and I _ripped_ the fucking life out of him.

He crumpled to the ground.

I gazed out at the rest of the crowd, eyes heavy on me with their fear. I realized I knew some of these people. Faces I had seen in Diagon Alley at one point or another, some Slytherins I had crossed paths or wands with. There was even a Hufflepuff in the back that I had partnered with in my Newt Transfiguration course for two weeks.

I could have stopped there. I _should_ have stopped there.

I let my gaze drift towards the body at the front of the Hall, and an idea occurred to me, unbidden.

"You know," I said softly, "I think that I know exactly what it is that you people deserve."

I walked towards Voldemorts body, wand moving through the same motions it had gone through not moments before.

I could feel the terror of people at my back as I turned the Resurrection Stone. There was none of the gentleness I had reserved for Tonks in my motions as I gripped his spirit around his throat, throwing him back into his body. Even now, you could see the tears where he had split his soul, and I understood what Dumbledore meant when he said that Horcruxes where the worst sort of magic.

I stood, my voice clear and strong as another piece of my life fractured from me.

_"Rise,"_ I said, _"and rise again."_

Voldemort rose, and the Dark Lord was alive again. He gazed at me, eyes calculating. "Harry Potter."

I nodded, flicking my wand. My old Holly wand, repaired at last, was placed into Voldemorts hand, and he almost blinked in surprise as a few sparks drifted towards the ground. "Voldemort."

He looked at the wand, out over the horror-stricken crowd, and finally me. I could tell he wanted to curse me, but a power greater than his own stayed his hand.

I nodded towards the crowd that had been so eager to condemn me. "Consider it a parting gift." I walked towards the doors, feeling his eyes on my back. "You will only die when the last one of them dies. In return, I'll do what I can to make your afterlife a little more bearable. Do we have a deal?" Of course, I had no such power. This was as far as my new talents went, but he never needed to know that.

Voldemort inclined his head slightly, a malicious grin spreading across his face. "Goodbye, Harry Potter."

I walked out of the Hall, a flick of my wand opening the doors for me. The crowd's screams followed me out, cutting off as I sealed the doors.

It would be a very long time before I opened them back up again.


End file.
